The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in Harare, is the oldest and largest university in Zimbabwe.[3] It was founded through a special relationship with the University of London and it opened its doors to its first students in 1952. The university has ten faculties offering a wide variety of degree programmes and many specialist research centres and institutes. The university is accredited through the National Council for Higher Education, under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education. English is the language of instruction. Although once a very successful university, UZ has been facing challenges around 2008 and now the University is on a rebounding drive. Major work is being done to uplift the status of the University. Refurbishments are being carried out on the Main campus and many facilities are being upgraded to make the university an International Academic Brand. The university has faced criticism for awarding fraudulent degrees to members of the Mugabe regime.[4][5][6][7]

In 1945, Manfred Hodson (after whom a residence is now named) formed the Rhodesia University Association, inspired by the promise of £20,000 by J.F. Kapnek for establishing such a university. [8] The following year, the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia adopted a motion proposed by Hodson for the establishment of a university college to serve the needs of Rhodesia and neighbouring territories. The Governor of Southern Rhodesia established the Rhodesia University Foundation Fund in 1947. The Legislative Assembly accepted an offer of land in Mount Pleasant from the City of Salisbury (now Harare) for the construction of the campus in 1948. Four years later a bill was enacted for the incorporation and constitution of the university. First classes began for some 68 students on a temporary site at 147 Baker Avenue (now Nelson Mandela Avenue).[3] Independent of the initiatives of Hodson and the Legislative Assembly, the Central African Council's commission on higher education, led by Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders (after whom another residence is now named) recommended the establishment of a university college to serve Rhodesia and Nyasaland, with its first preference being to integrate with the Southern Rhodesian initiative.[8]

The University of Zimbabwe Act was controversially amended in 1990, giving the government more powers and, according to many faculty, students and observers, attacking academic freedom.[11][12] The late 1980s and most of the 1990s saw a rise in student protest,[13][14][15] resulting in several closures [16] and mass expulsions.[17] Despite the ongoing tensions, the university continued to grow and the student population had reached 8,000 by 1995[10] and 10,139 by 2001.[3] As the 2000s began, the university struggled to meet lecturers' and professors' expectations on salary levels, leading to numerous strikes.[18] Many donors, including the Government of Sweden, which had previously been a major financer of UZ, cut or cancelled their aid.[19] As the economic crisis grew in Zimbabwe, UZ began to fail to recruit lecturers and professors to fill vacancies.[20] By 2007, the shortage of staff was preventing the teaching and examination of some programmes.[21] Problems with water and electricity supply, as well as maintenance of infrastructure became critical by the late 2000s.[21] The decline of UZ culminated in the university's failure to re-open for the 2008–2009 academic year.[22] The University briefly opened in early 2009, but no classes were held due to strike action by lecturers.[23] The institution was closed again in late February, following demonstrations by students against new, hard currency fees.[24]

The university has faced criticism for awarding fraudulent degrees to members of the Mugabe regime; in 2014, Grace Mugabe was given a doctorate in sociology, only two months after being registered on the programme, and although a dissertion does not exist in the university archives. Also other senior members of the Mugabe regime were given doctorates, without writing dissertations.[4][5][6][7][25][26]

Social gathering on the edge of the College Green, University of Zimbabwe

The main campus of the University of Zimbabwe is located in Mount Pleasant suburb in northern Harare. It forms the main portion of the block of land reserved for educational purposes between Mount Pleasant Drive, Upper East Road, Churchill Avenue and Teviotdale Road. Other facilities within this area include the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture Audio-Visual Centre and Mount Pleasant School.[27] In addition to the academic buildings, the main campus is host to sporting facilities, all but two student residences and much of the staff housing. The College Green, located centrally to the academic buildings, is a popular site for social events. About one third of the campus is a seasonal wetland, unsuitable for construction and thus unused.[28]

The major satellite campus is the Medical School campus at Parirenyatwa Hospital in central Harare.[27] It houses the College of Health Sciences. Additional university properties within Harare include blocks of flats for staff and student housing in Avondale, the Avenues and Mount Pleasant.

The titular head of the university is the Chancellor, who is the President of Zimbabwe. The university is governed by a University Council, comprising the university's chief officers, representatives of the Senate, staff and students, nominees of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and representatives form various sectors of commerce and civil society. The chief executive of the university is the Vice-Chancellor, who is appointed by the Chancellor after consultation with the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and the University Council. The Vice-Chancellor is assisted by one or more Pro–Vice-Chancellors, appointed by the University Council with the approval of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education.[1]

The academic authority of the university is vested in the Senate, comprising the university's chief officers, the deans of faculties, all full professors, the chairmen of departments and staff and student representatives. The university is divided into faculties, managed by an executive dean and governed by a Faculty Board comprising all professors and lecturers.[1]

The university currently has one college, the College of Health Sciences which incorporates the Faculty of Medicine. However, many of Zimbabwe's public universities started as colleges of the University of Zimbabwe:

The degree programmes follow the Course Unit model, and in many programmes it is possible for students to select some of the courses from a range of options. Honours degrees have a compulsory project course that the students must complete individually, with different projects carried out by each student.[35]

The University of Zimbabwe offers postgraduate honours degrees, two types of master's degree and doctoral degrees. Postgraduate honours programmes, also known as special honours programmes last are for one-year duration and incorporate coursework, examinations and a compulsory project module. Master's degrees by coursework and project are designated M.A. or M.Sc. and are of one to two years duration. They incorporate coursework and project modules. Master's degrees by research thesis only are designated M.Phil. and require a minimum of two years study. The doctoral programme, D.Phil., is by research thesis only. Students who are carrying out an M.Phil. study, but have not yet submitted their thesis, may apply to their faculty to upgrade their study to the D.Phil. programme.[37]

On the main campus there are five residences for women: Swinton Hall and New Complexes 1,3 and 4 and New Hall, and four residences for men: Manfred Hodson Hall, New Complex 2, New Complex 5 and Carr-Saunders. There is also the Medical Residence at the Medical School campus and Mount Royal Residence in the Avenues, in central Harare. The residences were closed in June 2007, with the university authorities citing maintenance and sanitation problems.[21]

The university has a target of at least one current or former UZ student representing the country in a medal winning sports team in international competitions annually.[38]Sport at UZ is centred around the Sports Pavilion, which was built with a donation from Rhodesia (now National) Breweries.[8] Sports offered at the university include athletics, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, rugby and tennis. UZ has frequently won the Zimbabwe Universities Sports Association Games.[39] In its early years, men's hockey was the premier sport, with a team in Salisbury's "First League" in 1960[40] - [41] The University of Zimbabwe Football Club plays in Zimbabwe's Division One and is the former home of Manchester Citystriker and Zimbabwe national football team captain, Benjani Mwaruwari.[42] The club was for a time coached by former PresidentCanaan Banana.[43] When Zimbabwe hosted the All-Africa Games in 1995, UZ was the games village.[44] Maintenance of sporting facilities is the responsibility of the Director: Sport, but in recent years accessing funds from the State Procurement Board has been a challenge.[38]

In most departments there are subject–related clubs or societies, for example the Kirk Biological Society [45] and the AIESEC and Students Institution for Success Club.[46] In 2005, UZ won the Students in Free Enterprise World Cup held in Ontario, Canada. There are also non–academic clubs such as Rotaract[47]

The gender gap in enrollment at UZ, like at African universities,[48] became a concern by the mid-1990s and in 1995 an affirmative action programme was built into the university's policy.[49] However, many female students feel inhibited from taking male-dominated courses or taking part in student politics. Women are intimidated by gender–related violence[48] and sexual exploitation.[50]